2019 MOVIE PREVIEW: All the big films hitting this year

By Al Alexander/For the Patriot Ledger

Thursday

Jan 3, 2019 at 2:22 PM

The ink is barely dry on my postmortem of the best movies of 2018 and I’m already looking ahead to 2019 in anticipation of the next “Roma,” “Black Panther” or “Crazy Rich Asians.” And how can you not be psyched by the prospects of films directed by Oscar-winners Martin Scorsese, Ang Lee and Quentin Tarantino, and featuring high-wattage stars the caliber of Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Tom Hanks?

Per usual, it will be an eclectic collection of dramas, comedies and superhero sagas, with sequel-happy Disney leading the way hoping a fourth time will be charm for both its Toy Story and Avengers franchises. The Mouse is also back to his old tricks of turning classic toons into live-action extravaganzas -- not once, but thrice with “Aladdin” (May 24), “The Lion King” (July 19) and “Dumbo” (March 29). Nor can he let it go with “Frozen,” granting that iconic princess pic a second shot at warming the hearts of the little girl in all of us in “Frozen 2” (Nov. 27).

Joining “Avengers: Endgame” (May 3) in the Marvel Universe are “Captain Marvel” (March 8), starring Oscar-winner Brie Larson in the title role, and a second helping of our beloved Spidey in “Spider-Man: Far from Home” (July 3). Over in the DC galaxy, get ready to get pumped to see Joaquin Phoenix trying to fill the shoes of Heath Ledger with his very own “Joker” movie on Oct. 4. And speaking of galaxies, there’s word of a ninth installment of the “Star Wars” epic (Dec. 20) with J.J. Abrams returning to the director’s chair.

Remember Arnold Schwarzenegger? He’s baaack, too, hoping to revive his faltering career by reviving his trademark cyborg in a yet-to-be-titled Terminator movie (Nov. 1). Aliens of another sort also have a role in another resurrection, that being the Ray Ban-wearing fellas enforcing laws pertaining to outer-space creatures violating their visas in “Men in Black International” (June 14). Only this time, they’re not fellas, or at least one of them isn’t, as Tessa Thompson as Agent M joins Chris Hemsworth’s Agent H in restoring order to the universe. One thing for sure, they’ll make this movie look good.

Closer to home, comes another classic, the shot-in-Boston “Little Women” (Dec. 25), directed by “Lady Bird’s” Greta Gerwig and starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothee Chalamet and Streep. Another period drama, “Downton Abbey” (Sept. 20), should get fans of the beloved PBS series in a tizzy. Same for the rabid fans of “It,” which returns with the traumatized kids all grown up and not in the mood for any more clowning around from Pennywise in “It: Chapter Two” (Sept. 6). The sewer-dwelling killer is certainly no match for the likes of Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader. Then there’s “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” (March 22), which is where you’ll want to go knowing it stars Cate Blanchett and is based on Maria Semple’s best-seller about a supermom who suddenly disappears. Did I mention the estimable Richard Linklater is directing? I know you’ll find me there.

For auto sports junkies, start revving your supercharged engines for “Ford v. Ferrari” (June 28), a high-octane gas starring Matt Damon as legendary racecar-designer Carroll Shelby, whose revolutionary Ford GT40 knocked Ferrari off its lofty perch with Ken Miles (Christian Bale) behind the wheel at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1965. James Mangold of “Walk the Line” fame, directs. Another trip back to the 1960s is the trippy “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (July 26), Quentin Tarantino’s hotly anticipated look back at the City of Angels in the tumultuous summer of 1969, when Charlie Manson had everyone locking their mansion doors. And what a cast: Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Kurt Russell, Al Pacino and Dakota Fanning as the infamous Squeaky Fromme!

On the animation front, the new “Toy Story” (June 21) and “Frozen” offerings are joined by sequels to “How to Train Your Dragon” (Feb. 22) and “The LEGO Movie” (Feb. 8). And if that wasn’t enough, Scorsese furthers the trend of A-list directors jumping over to Netflix with his $140 million (and counting) profile of the demise of union boss Jimmy Hoffa, played by Al Pacino. Taking Hoffa down is De Niro’s Frank Sheeran. Hard to believe, but “The Irishman” (date TBD) will be the first time Pacino has ever worked with Scorsese. Better late than never, I guess.

Oops, I almost forgot a couple other standouts in Ang Lee’s sci-fi thriller “Gemini Man” (Oct. 4), Ruben Fleisher’s sure-to-be-fun “Zombieland” sequel (Oct. 11), and for fans of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” an Elton John biopic starring Taron Egerton and helmed by “Rhapsody's” co-director Dexter Fletcher. It’s called ... what else? ... “Rocketman” (May 17). Also look for sequels to “Godzilla” (“King of Monsters” on May 31) and “X-Men” (“Dark Phoenix” on June 7), a handsome film production of the Broadway smash “Wicked” (Dec. 20), a reboot of “Charlie’s Angels” (Nov. 1), and on the heels of the magnificent “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” a narrative version with Tom Hanks attempting to fill the comfy slippers of children’s TV star, Fred Rogers, in "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" (Oct. 18).

Personally, I’m really looking forward to “Us” (March 15), Jordan Peele’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning “Get Out,” in which he again ventures into the sci-fi spectrum to tell the tale of a vacationing family being rudely interrupted by unexpected visitors. Oh, and if you think you’ve seen the last of James McAvoy’s creepy character(s) from “Split,” think again when M. Night Shyamalan brings him, Samuel L. Jackson’s Mr. Price and Bruce Willis’ David Dunn altogether for all kinds of supernatural craziness in “Glass.” It opens in just two weeks on Jan. 18, and is almost certain to be the first bonafide blockbuster of 2019. So let the fun begin. I can hardly wait.